


What She Liked the Best

by Erikthonius



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 14:59:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14451750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erikthonius/pseuds/Erikthonius





	What She Liked the Best

Nico should have been happy. Just a little while ago he had been happy, happier than he’d ever been before. Last week, he’d been at the beach with Will and all of their friends. They’d had their usual bonfire, old camp songs had been sung, couples had draped themselves around each other, and then, out of the blue, Will had disentangled from Nico. As his boyfriend dropped to one knee, he could see Piper and Calypso exchanging knowing glances and Leo fist bumping Percy and Jason. Even before Will could start to speak, Nico started to cry. He usually wasn’t the crier in their relationship; Will was always the one grabbing the Kleenex box when they lay together on the couch watching Pixar. But now look at him. The cool, calm unflappable Ghost King was a blubbering mess, while that blond dork was suddenly possessed of all the poise and eloquence of Apollo, asking him the question he so much wanted to hear.

Nico couldn’t even speak to respond, just nodded yes and pulled him close. He was shaking so badly that Will could barely get the ring onto his finger, but once it was on, Nico could only take his eyes off the ring to lock them onto his boyfriend’s, no, his fiance’s blue eyes, more beautiful than ever. Eventually, he calmed down and settled into a contented smile. The rest of the evening was a daze, but he vaguely remembered everyone else admiring the ring that he now wore so proudly and hearing Leo and Annabeth trading congratulations on the design and craftsmanship of the ring. Gods, he’d been smiling the whole rest of the evening, to the point where even Percy commented, “Neeks, that smile looks good on you. I hope we’ll be seeing more of it.”

The smile didn’t last. It never did this time of year. Nico tried to keep it up. He knew how much it meant to Will. And he really was happy, so happy. But he couldn’t do it. Not now. He would look at that ring on his finger and want to smile, but then he’d think of her. Bianca. His sister. Bianca, who’d died twelve years ago, just at this time. More than anyone else, he wanted her to see the ring, wanted to tell her the wonderful news. But even though he had, as the son of Hades, full run of the underworld, he couldn’t do it. Bianca had chosen rebirth, so he could never find his sister again and show her how happy he was. He knew that in time he’d feel happy again, but it wasn’t fair to Will, Will who stood by him every year when he got like this, who had always been there for him, who deserved so much better from his fiance.

Finally, he decided that he needed to find some closure. Ironic, that someone who’d been presiding over funerary rites for demigods for over a decade, consoling people over lost friends, family, and lovers had never done so for himself. He thought about where to go. He’d tried to find answers from their father and the other underworld powers in the past, and it was made clear that the Fates had decreed that this was not allowed. He knew that Percy was the last person to see his sister alive, but they’d talked that out years before, and he didn’t want to open up old wounds with his friend.

Finally, he realized that the best being to approach was the goddess Artemis. This would be delicate. After all, Artemis tended not to look with favor upon males in general. On the other hand, after a rocky beginning (he’d been upset that Bianca had left him to join the Hunters, and the first quest she’d gone on with them had resulted in her death) he’d developed a bit of a connection with the Hunters, first during the search for Percy at the beginning of the second Giant uprising and then when he and Reyna had transported the Athena Parthenos halfway around the world. And he and Thalia, who was still Artemis’ first lieutenant, had become more friendly in the years since. He also hoped that, as Artemis was Will’s aunt, she might regard him as future family.

So it was that he entered the Artemis cabin on the night of the full moon, when the goddess was out in full power. He kept his head bowed and, on Thalia’s advice, had his eyes bound with a cloth. It was well known that the moon goddess did not take well to the prying eyes of men, and he didn’t want to end his errand (and probably his life) transformed into a beast and hunted down. 

“Lady Artemis, please accept my offering,” he began, his voice low and respectful.

“Arise, son of Hades,” came the voice of a young girl. When he raised his head so that she could see what he’d used to cover his eyes, a laugh burst from her lips. “A rainbow flag for a blindfold? Really, Nico.”

He allowed the smallest smile to cross his face.

“Honestly, you have your father’s sense of humor. I know why you have come and what you seek, Nico di Angelo. The Fates had decreed that you and your sister be kept apart, but I’ve never been a one for following orders. Know, first of all, that your sister always kept you in her heart. (A small shiver shook him at hearing that after all these years.) Know also that although a sister of mine has been enjoined to keep certain things secret, she asked me to pass on three things. First, Bianca’s rebirth was, for reasons I cannot say, delayed. Second, her favorite flower is still the edelweis.” She did not mention a third thing, and Nico knew better than to press any goddess, especially this one, for more information.

Artemis, however, was not done with him. “One thing of my own,” she said. “As an engagement gift to one who is about to marry one of my favorite nephews, what Bianca loved best of all was...” She bent toward him to whisper in his ear, which at first surprised him, as they were alone in the cabin, but when he heard what she had to say, he was glad that she’d kept it private.

The next thing Nico knew, he was back in Cabin 13. He no longer lived there; he and Will had shared an apartment in Manhattan since they’d finished school and Will had begun his internship. Nevertheless, they were always welcome back at Camp Half Blood, and since Hades had no more demigod children, Will and Nico had free use of the cabin. It was also daylight. Obviously, Artemis was being discreet about their encounter. He was surprised to find a piece of paper in his pocket. It was a flyer for a botanical garden. That must’ve been the third thing that Artemis had referred to. On the flyer was written a note in what he recognized as his stepmother’s hand. It was today’s date and the time 1:30. There was also a PS: “My sister would appreciate you not mentioning what she called your fiance to his father. You know how he can be.”

Nico looked at a clock on the mantle of the cabin. 1:20. Goddesses and their sense of timing. He went to the shrine at the rear of the cabin and picked up something he’d placed there years before, something very special to him. He put it in his back pocket and stepped into one of the many shadows.

He emerged from the shadow of a large oak tree and paused to orient himself. He found his way to the appropriate display and read the plaque in from of the flowers:

“...a well-known mountain flower, belonging to the Asteraceae (daisy or sunflower family).  
The plant prefers rocky limestone places at about 5,900–9,800 ft altitude. It is non-toxic, and has been used traditionally in folk medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. According to legend, the difficulty in acquiring an edelweiss flower was exaggerated to the point of claiming the possession of one is a proof of unusual daring. Thus the flower has come to symbolize purity and bravery.”

“An appropriate flower for Bianca,” Nico thought. Now, of course, the problem was that he had no idea who he was hoping to see. Since Persephone had taken an interest in this matter, that could be a problem; she didn’t seem to be well disposed toward her stepson. On the other hand, where flowers were involved, the goddess tended to be more straightforward (insofar as any deity could be said to be straightforward) and less hostile toward him. That still left him with the difficulty that he didn’t know what Bianca would look like after rebirth and, after what Artemis had said, how old she would be. Well, Artemis had said “her favorite flower,” so at least he had that much information.

He sat down to wait. The thought of asking total strangers “Is that your favorite flower?” filled him with dread. Rather than facing people he didn’t know, he looked down at his hands. On his right hand, he wore the skull ring he’d had for so long. It was a comfort, a gift from his late sister. On his left hand was the ring Will had given him, gold and onyx worked together, a fitting symbol of the way the two boys’ lives were so intertwined. His reverie was interrupted by the sound of scurrying feet and a woman’s voice calling, “Winnie, wait for your mother.”

He looked up to see a girl, about six years old. She’d run up to the display and stared at the white flowers intently. “They’re so pretty,” the little girl breathed. Then she turned to look at him. He certainly wasn’t comfortable striking up a conversation with this little girl, especially with her mother coming up and looking so worried.

But the girl continued as if it were nothing. “I know a song about them. Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me,” she sang in that slightly tuneless way of children. “Do you know that song?” she asked.

Of course, Nico did. His fiance was, true to his parentage, an endless source of songs from musicals. His mouth crooked up just a bit at the thought of him.

With that, a woman, obviously the little girl’s mother, came puffing up to them. She looked extremely pregnant and quite annoyed with her daughter. “Keridwyn Whelan! What do you mean by running off like that?” There was a faint lilt to the woman’s voice, perhaps a touch of an accent, probably Irish, judging by her daughter’s name.

“And what are you thinking, running off without your hat?” the woman continued. “You’re far too fair to be out in the sun without it.”

Ignoring her mother’s words, the girl chattered on. “That’s my mum. She’s going to have a baby. I’m going to be the best big sister ever.”

Those words shook Nico to his core. He knew what he had to do. He drew out the object he’d stuck in his back pocket. It was a floppy green hat. He said (in a slightly shaky voice), “I happen to have this hat, which, if your mother doesn’t mind, would look very nice on you and is perfect for big sisters.”

“Well, thank you very much, sir,” the woman replied. “Normally, I’d be leery of strangers, but I can see that you have a kind face, even though it’s a sad one.”

The girl, Keridwyn, smiled at him as he put the hat on her. He knew the look in her eyes. It was a little wistful, a little mischievous. He hadn’t seen it in years, but he’d never forget it. As she looked up at him, she saw the ring on his left hand, the one he’d just been given a few days ago.

“That’s so pretty,” she exclaimed. 

“It’s an engagement ring,” he replied.

“Are you getting married?”

He couldn’t keep it in any longer. “Yes I am. I’m marrying the most wonderful man in the world.”

It felt so good to say, it just brought back the smile to his face. And then she said it. The thing that Artemis had whispered to him. The thing that let him know beyond any doubt that the person he’d wanted most tell about his engagement had heard.

“The flowers are so pretty, and your ring is so pretty, but your smile is what I like the best.” 


End file.
